The Wit And Wisdom Of Boyd K. Packer

[Scott Lloyd]

In the wake of the passing of President Packer, this threadi is for posting pithy, wise, even humorous quotations of statements uttered by him in the course of his ministry.

This is not a Packer-bashing thread, and if it takes a turn in that direction, I will close it.

A few years ago, President Packer, then beginning to show the signs of age and failing health that would become so obvious very soon, experienced an episode of fainting while visiting a ward or stake, I forget where now.

He was briefly hospitalized and released.

I was covering the Seminar for New Mission Presidents at the time. I was instructed to closely follow the scheduled talk that President Packer was to give at the seminar and report on it, among other things, as a means of assuring the Latter-day Saints that he was in stable health.

He began by referring to the fainting episode but said he had decided to press on with the assignment to speak nothwithstanding.

In doing so, he said he was reminded of a poem. It turned out to be something of a parody of Edgar A. Guest verse. I have committed it to memory:

They said it couldn't be done,

But with a smile, he went right to it.

He tackled the thing that couldn't be done,

And, by George, he couldn't do it.

The Brethren on the stand and the people in the seminar roared with laughter. Edited July 7, 2015 by Scott Lloyd

[Scott Lloyd]

Here's another one that I recall.

 

He was cautioning against an epidemic of "counselitis" in the Church and warned that if one is not judicious in his counseling, he may end up causing the very thing he is trying to prevent.

 

He then said he was saw an advertising slogan in the window of photo portrait studio: "If there's beauty, we'll take it; if there is none, we'll make it."

 

He said the slogan could be adapted to express the message he was trying to convey. Some counselors, he said, seem to go by the slogan "If there are probems, we'll abate them; if there are none, we'll create them."

 

That was the same talk in which he said some people are like the parents who, when going out, warned, "Now children, whatever you do, while we're out, don't get the kitchen stool and put it next to the counter and climb up on it so you can reach the cupboard and move the package of sugar to get at the sack of beans and put one of them up your nose, will you?"

[Kenngo1969]

This is part humorous, part poignant, part testimony, and all pure, quintessential President Packer (from April General Conference of 2013):

 

 

I reached the age of 68. I felt impressed to start what I called an “Unfinished Composition.” The first part of that work goes like this:

I had a thought the other night,

A thought profound and deep.

It came when I was too worn down,

Too tired to go to sleep.

I’d had a very busy day

And pondered on my fate.

The thought was this:

When I was young, I wasn’t 68!

I could walk without a limp;

I had no shoulder pain.

I could read a line through twice

And quote it back again.

I could work for endless hours

And hardly stop to breathe.

And things that now I cannot do

I mastered then with ease.

If I could now turn back the years,

If that were mine to choose,

I would not barter age for youth,

I’d have too much to lose.

I am quite content to move ahead,

To yield my youth, however grand.

The thing I’d lose if I went back

Is what I understand.

Ten years later, I decided to add a few more lines to that poem:

Ten years have flown to who knows where

And with them much of pain.

A metal hip erased my limp;

I walk quite straight again.

Another plate holds neck bones fast—

A wonderful creation!

It backed my polio away;

I’ve joined the stiff-necked generation.

The signs of aging can be seen.

Those things will not get better.

The only thing that grows in strength

With me is my forgetter.

You ask, “Do I remember you?”

Of course, you’re much the same.

Now don’t go getting all upset

If I can’t recall your name.

I would agree I’ve learned some things

I did not want to know,

But age has brought those precious truths

That make the spirit grow.

Of all the blessings that have come,

The best thing in my life

Is the companionship and comfort

I get from my dear wife.

Our children all have married well,

With families of their own,

With children and grandchildren,

How soon they all have grown.

I have not changed my mind one bit

About regaining youth.

We’re meant to age, for with it

Comes a knowledge of the truth.

You ask, “What will the future bring?

Just what will be my fate?”

I’ll go along and not complain.

Ask when I’m 88!

And last year I added these lines:

And now you see I’m 88.

The years have flown so fast.

I walked, I limped, I held a cane,

And now I ride at last.

I take a nap now and again,

But priesthood power remains.

For all the physical things I lack

There are great spiritual gains.

I have traveled the world a million miles

And another million too.

And with the help of satellites,

My journeys are not through.

I now can say with all certainty

That I know and love the Lord.

I can testify with them of old

As I preach His holy word.

I know what He felt in Gethsemane

Is too much to comprehend.

I know He did it all for us;

We have no greater Friend.

I know that He will come anew

With power and in glory.

I know I will see Him once again

At the end of my life’s story.

I’ll kneel before His wounded feet;

I’ll feel His Spirit glow.

My whispering, quivering voice will say,

“My Lord, my God, I know.”¹

And I do know!

 

[David13]

I liked so much of what he said, and I'm not familiar with all he said.  So it's difficult for me to say one particularly thing.  Maybe I should say I don't think I disliked anything he ever said.

dc

 

The above ones I thought were all good ones.

[ERayR]

The times I have heard him say I think I see your problem.  You have a wonderful stake program but it really should be a program left to the wards.

[longview]

Packer called Betty Eadie's book "Embraced by the Light" bunk back in 1993.  Which I appreciated because I was trying to tamp down my wife's and her mother's enthusiasm for the book (I had read it and found many problems with it).  

[canard78]

Not wit but wisdom:

“The line of priesthood authority was broken. But mankind was not left in total darkness or completely without revelation or inspiration. The idea that with the Crucifixion of Christ the heavens were closed and that they opened in the First Vision is not true. The Light of Christ would be everywhere present to attend the children of God; the Holy Ghost would visit seeking souls. The prayers of the righteous would not go unanswered.”

Boyd K. Packer, “The Light of Christ,” Ensign, Apr. 2005, 11

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2005/04/the-light-of-christ?lang=eng&query=Inspiration

[canard78]

I'm also fond of this one:

"Some years ago I was in Washington, D.C., with President Harold B. Lee. Early one morning he called me to come into his hotel room. He was sitting in his robe reading Gospel Doctrine, by President Joseph F. Smith, and he said, “Listen to this!”

“Jesus had not finished his work when his body was slain, neither did he finish it after his resurrection from the dead; although he had accomplished the purpose for which he then came to the earth, he had not fulfilled all his work. And when will he? Not until he has redeemed and saved every son and daughter of our father Adam that have been or ever will be born upon this earth to the end of time, except the sons of perdition. That is his mission. We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission.”

“There is never a time,” the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin.”

Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 18

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/10/the-brilliant-morning-of-forgiveness?lang=eng

[rockpond]

President Packer has been an apostle since before I was born.  It's possible that he has done more to advance our understanding of doctrine than just about anyone else.  October's general conference without he and Elder Perry is going to feel odd.

 

I can't decide on which one particular quote to post.  So, for those who haven't read it recently, my contribution to this thread would be to encourage you to read his April 2012 Gen Con address:  And a Little Child Shall Lead Them.

[KevinG]

File this under wisdom (not wit)... 

 

When in a Bishiopric in a BYU married student ward Elder Packer took us (student Bishopric members) into a room and gave us a good talking too for about two hours.  Among the things he taught us was:

 

• If we exercised the Priesthood like we ought, there wouldn't be a woman in the world, much less the church, who would question why men had it.
• We are good about being prompt to get to work, but we should also be prompt to get home.  If our wives expect us home at a certain time they should be able to look out the window and know our car is one of the next three to come down the street.
• He received too many letters from upset women whose husbands were doing/asking for things they should not.  He said we knew what he was talking about and that there was no reason to go into details, just that we needed to knock it off.

I shared those thoughts with my wife, and she has dutifully reminded me of them throughout our marriage.  

[Kenngo1969]

Seven kids?  I should think you've followed President Packer's counsel about being home when your wife wants you there often enough!

 

Sorry;  Couldn't resist!

[KevinG]

Seven kids?  I should think you've followed President Packer's counsel about being home when your wife wants you there often enough!

 

Sorry;  Couldn't resist!

 

Had health permitted she would have given me more than that!  

[Kenngo1969]

Seven kids?  I should think you've followed President Packer's counsel about being home when your wife wants you there often enough!

 

Sorry;  Couldn't resist!

 

 

Had health permitted she would have given me more than that!  

Good for her.

 

You can come back at me with, "Ken, those who can, do; those who can't make fun of those who can"!

[KevinG]

Good for her.

 

You can come back at me with, "Ken, those who can, do; those who can't make fun of those who can"!

 

No need-  I have your address and a small gang to protect me.  Bwahahahaha!  

[Kenngo1969]

No need-  I have your address and a small gang to protect me.  Bwahahahaha!  

[Kenngo1969]

"Meanwhile, back at the ranch ..."  (That's what my old AP English teacher used to say after he'd gone off on a 20-minute tangent.)  Back to the subject of the thread (I apologize and repent ):

 

 

My life was changed by a saintly patriarch. He married his sweetheart. They were deeply in love, and soon she was expecting their first child.

 

The night the baby was born, there were complications. The only doctor was somewhere in the countryside tending to the sick. After many hours of labor, the condition of the mother-to-be became desperate. Finally, the doctor was located. In the emergency, he acted quickly and soon the baby was born, and the crisis, it appeared, was over. But some days later, the young mother died from the very infection that the doctor had been treating at another home that night.

 

The young man’s world was shattered. As the weeks wore on, his grief festered. He thought of little else, and in his bitterness he became threatening. Today, no doubt, he would have been pressed to file a malpractice suit, as though money would solve anything.

 

One night a knock came at his door. A little girl said simply, “Daddy wants you to come over. He wants to talk to you.”

 

“Daddy” was the stake president. The counsel from that wise leader was simply “John, leave it alone. Nothing you do about it will bring her back. Anything you do will make it worse. John, leave it alone.”

 

This had been my friend’s trial. How could he leave it alone? A terrible wrong had been committed. He struggled to get hold of himself and finally determined that he should be obedient and follow the counsel of that wise stake president. He would leave it alone.

 

He said, “I was an old man before I understood and could finally see a poor country doctor—overworked, underpaid, run ragged from patient to patient, with little medicine, no hospital, few instruments, struggling to save lives, and succeeding for the most part. He had come in a moment of crisis, when two lives hung in the balance, and had acted without delay. I finally understood!” He said, “I would have ruined my life and the lives of others.”

 

Many times he had thanked the Lord on his knees for a wise priesthood leader who counseled simply, “John, leave it alone.”

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/guided-by-the-holy-spirit?lang=eng

Edited July 7, 2015 by Kenngo1969

[Scott Lloyd]

"Meanwhile, back at the ranch ..."  (That's what my old AP English teacher used to say after he'd gone off on a 20-minute tangent.)  Back to the subject of the thread (I apologize and repent ):

 

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/guided-by-the-holy-spirit?lang=eng

This is beautiful! Thank you for reminding us of it.